I haven’t been able to identify this butterfly. It was at the Butterflies LIVE exhibit at Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden so it may not be native to the United States. If anybody knows the species I’d appreciate a comment.

This Common Morpho was kind enough to sit still while I photographed it head-on. It’s a large butterfly with brilliant blue on the upperside of its wings and brown with black and yellow eyespots on the undersides.

This small Eastern River Cooter was basking on a sunny log in the Rappahannock River as a paddled my canoe past it last July. I don’t know much about the turtles of Virginia so I may have misidentified this one.

During the breeding season the American Goldfinch has beautiful, bright yellow plumage that turns to a sort of olive green in the fall. This female, decked out in her summer plumage, looks curious about something. The males are similarly colored but sport a prominent black cap as part of their breeding plumage.

This post was inspired by Brenda of A Meditative Journey with Saldage. When I saw these ferns they reminded me of the type of image she frequently posts. That being said, I’m sure she would have done a far better job with them than I did.

Virginia’s state bird can be difficult to photograph. The Northern Cardinal normally keeps at a safe distance from people so it’s hard to get really close to them. The male’s brilliant red color can also make exposure and even focus difficult at times. I captured this one in open shade and that seems to have resolved the color issues.